Toy puffing locomotive apparatus



Oct. l0, 1950 J. DAsENBRocK TOY PUFFING LOCOMOTIVE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 25, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 oct. 1o, 195o J. DAsENBRpTK Toy PUFFING Locomb'rIvE APPARATUS Filed Feb. 25, 1944 '2- s eefsfghg; 2

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 10, 1950 TOY PUFFING LOCOMOTIVE APPARATUS John Dasenbrock, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., assigner to The A. C. Gilbert Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Maryland Application February 25, 1944, Serial No. 523,953

9 Claims.

This invention relates to electric toy or model trains and particularly pertains to electrically mpelled toy locomotives fashioned in imitation of real steam locomotives and equipped with means for producing audible locomotive puffing effects to simulate the performance of a real steam locomotive. The present improvements further pertain to means for producing such puffing effects in connection with the operation of any toy.

A form of utilization of the invention is described and claimed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 523,952, filed February 25, 1944, now United States Patent No. 2,520,916, issued September 5, 1960. l

An object of the present improvements is to project and fluctuate intermittent jets of air in a manner to increase the realism with which the noises produced thereby shall resemble the noises of real locomotive performance or the audible performance of any steam engine.

Another object of the present improvements is so to generate and play a jet of air upon the fixed edge yof an orifice or other air flow fluctuating 'structure that a sibilance of sounds results which varies realistically when the pump operation is speeded up or slowed down.

'hese and other objectives will become clearer in connection with the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention in which reference is had to the accompanying sheet of drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 shows in side elevation a toy locomotive incorporating the present improvements standing on a section of toy railroad track, its carried apparatus being in part broken away or shown in section to expose some of the interior construction.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of the toy locomotive shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an endwise view taken in section on the plane 3 3 in Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary View of parts of the sound making apparatus taken in section on the plane 4-4 in Fig. Blocking inthe directi-on of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view taken in section on the vertical plane 5-5 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view taken in section on the vertical plane 6-6 in Fig. 1.

As the present improvements concern principally the working apparatus carried by the locomotive for producing sound effects, it will sunce to describe the wheeled Cllds, Q 1911.@ lOQmQtVe (Cl. llli-113) 2 as composed of a frame I0 pivotally supported in part by a front wheel truck I I and impelled along track rails I2 by the driving wheels I3 whose axles 2| are journaled in a xed tractional power unit. Spur gears I4 are xed on wheels I3, respectively, and are in mesh with a common power gear I5 Whose shaft 20 is journaled in the side plates lI6 of the said power unit whose electric motor I1 has an armature shaft I8 xedly carrying a pinion I9 meshing with gear I5 for impelling the locomotive.

In the usual manner a current collector is employed, herein shown in the form of conductive rollers 23 Vresiliently mounted by means of conductive leaf springs on a bed plate 24 of insula# tive material carried by side `plates I6 so that rollers 23 ride in conductive contact with the third or power rail 25. This rail is supported between track rails I2 upon toy sleepers 21 or other form of toy track bed structure and is shown to be insulated therefrom in conventional many ner.

The sounder pump 58 as a means to force a flow of intermittent streams of air is composed of a horizontal cylinder 60 firmly supported on chassis frame I0 having a rear end cap 6I and a front end wall 62 serving to close cylinder 60 fluid tight except for an orice 93 leading out of the top wall at the front end thereof and an orice 9,4 in the flat wall of the cylinder cap 6I. There is also an elongated cutaway 95 in the bottom wall of cylinder 60 which accommodates back and forth movements of a piston impelling spur stud 96 whose upper end is in rigid threaded engagement with the central piston block `68 to whose front and rear faces there are clamped like sets of parts forming in effect a single composite piston struc# ture 66.

Each of the said sets of piston parts includes a spacer block and face Washer 64 against which is rmly clamped the central web of a flexible hat leather 61 by means of a retaining disc 69 held by nut l0. Each of nuts 'I0 has threaded engagement with opposite ends respectively of a tie rod. '50.

The bottom end of piston mpelling spur stud 96 has an enlarged head `52 transversely bored' to snugly t and receive a slide shaft 53 made fast to the studheaclV 52 by a pin 54. Shaft 53 is provided with slide bearings in two lugs 55 xedly depending from chassis frame Ill and is recipro= cated in lengthwise strokes through means of a collar y5S xedly pinned on the front end of shaft l53 and fixedly carrying a depending stud 51. This stud is slotted and pivotally connected to pitman link 45 by a hinge pin 46. The opposite end of link 45 is bifurcate and the branch arms thereof are coupled pivotally to two of the driving wheels I3 at di on each side of the locomotive.

For fluctuating intermittent jets of air pumped by piston 66 to produce sounds imitative of the puffing of a real steam locomotive, pump cylinder 69 carries externally mounted thereon by means of support 85 a horizontally elongated jet chamber 8B comprising one tubular portion of an elbowshaped hollow structure the front end of which terminates in an upward directed communicating tubular portion opening to ambient air at the flaring funnel 88. The rear end of jet chamber 86 is xedly plugged by a 'bushing 89 containing an air fluctuating or Sounding orifice Bil. Removably sleeving onto the projecting rear-end of bushing 89 in air tight relation thereton there is a totally closed horizontal tubular cap o r cover 9| for orice 9 which affords a resonancecham-l ber. VThe girth of an elongated portion of the jet chamber is reduced at 84.

For leading air from the, sounder pump 58 and projecting it into sound producing relation to orice 99 an L-shaped tubular nozzle 92 has its air receiving end tapped into the sound pump cylinder 6l] at opening 93 and has a vent in its discharge end 8l and is tapered and directed toward the edge or lip of oriiice 90 within the jet chamber 86 through the reduced portion Bil of the latter. The vent through nozzle end 8i may measure in the neighborhood of 3-2" across while orice 9i? may be about 11e in diameter. The passageway for streams of air through nozzle 92 progressively decreases in passage area to a minimum size at the said vent. This causes streams of air to be accelerated within the nozzle and produces jets of air from the vent which are of minimized flare and which therefore strike with augmented force that is concentrated in the immediate vicinity of sounding orifice 20.

Electrical connections, not fully shown, are partly indicated by insulated electric wires |08, |09 in Fig. 6 the former of which wires leads current from one electrical terminal of motor I'l to the current collector 23 which rolls on power rail 25 and the latter of which Wires serves to ground the opposite electric terminal of motor I'I to the locomotive'frame l0 whence through wheels I3 circuit from power rail 25 is completed through track rail I2.

In Fig. 1, the conduit |06 may lead to and furnish pneumatic pressure or suction for operating any sort of toy train equipment such as whistles, animated figures, bell ringers, uncouplers, smoke effects and the like.

In the operation of the apparatus disclosed in Figs. l to 6, inclusive, it will be understood that whenever motor I'I drives the wheels I3 to impel the locomotive along track ,I2 pitman link 45 is actuated by wheel I3 to reciprocate slide rod 53 longitudinally in its bearings 55 which rod through its stud 9B correspondingly reciprocates the double faced piston E6 in pump cylinder 69.' At each stroke of this piston toward the left in Figs. 1 and 4 a stream of air is forced out of cylinder 69 through the elbow nozzle 92 and ejected as a jet of Yair issuing from the vent in nozzle end 8'! which jet of air is directed toward and plays against the lip of orifice 9U in a manner to cause africative or puffing noise which sibilance varies according to the forcefulness with which the jet of air is ejected from the nozzle. The characterlstics of the Sound produced are also affected by reactance of the body of air coniined in resonance chamber 9| so that there issues upward Out Q11"v the jet chamber through its open funnel-shaped top 88 successive sounds occurring at each stroke of piston 65 toward the left. rThese sounds realistically simulate the pufling noise made by the escape of steam from the power cylinder discharged into the stack oi a real locomotive to improve combustion draft. At each stroke of piston 615 air is free to enter orv leave the cylinder el) at the right face of this piston through aperture 94. This avoids loading the pump with the 'burden of any pneumatic work other than making the puffing noise, unless it be desired to make use of the alternate intake and outflow of air through conduit |66 to produce some other operating eiects in the toy locomotive.

Modiiications will be suggested by the disclosure hereof to those skilled in the art, wherefore the appended claims are intended to cover all equivalents of structure and arrangement hereing disclosed which come fairly within their terms.

I claim: 4

1. In apparatus for producing fricative noises simulating the puffing sounds of a steam engine. the combination of, a source of compressed air, a resonance chamber formed by walls pocketing a chamber-contained body of air and containing a sound oriiice giving said body of air limited eX- posure to the interior of said chamber, a conduit extending from said source of compressed air including a tubular nozzle having a vent outside of said resonance box spacedV away from said sound orifice, said nozzle `pointing toward said orifice, and containing a passageway decreasing in passage area progressively toward said vent along its tubular length Y 2. In apparatus adapted to be incorporated within a toy locomotive for producing fricative noises simulating steam puiiing sounds, the combination with means to force a flow of air in intermittent streams of, a'resonance chamber having a sounding orifice, and a tubular nozzle outside of said chamber pointing at said sounding orifice and having a terminal discharge vent spaced therefrom for projecting jets of air against said orifice toward the interior of said chamber, said nozzle containing van elongated passageway connected to receive and lead said streams of air to said vent progressively decreasing in passage area toward said vent whereby said streams of air are accelerated within said nozzle and said jets of air are projected with minimized flare thereby to strike with augmented force concentrated in the immediate vicinity of said sounding oriiice.

3. In apparatus adapted to be incorporated within a toy locomotive for producing fricative noises simulating steam puffing sounds, the combination with means to force a flow of air in intermittent streams of, a resonance chamber having a sounding orifice, and a tubular nozzle outside of said chamber pointing at said soundingv oriiice and having a terminal discharge vent spaced therefromv for projecting jets of air against said orifice toward the interior of said chamber, said nozzle containing an elongated passageway connected to receive and lead said streams of air to said vvent progressively decreasing in massage area toward said vent wdereby said streams of air are accelerated within said nozzle and said jets of Yair are projected with minimized iiare thereby to strike with augmented force concentrated in the immediate vicinity of said sounding orifice, together with a hollow strilctire *firming a iet chamber arranged to house the said nozzle vent and opening freely to ambient air said` chamber being of sufficiently `5 large girth to produce more space between the said tubular nozzle and said hollow structure than eXists within the said passageway of the nozzle.

4. In apparatus adapted to be incorporated within a toy locomotive for producing fricative noises simulating steam puffing sounds, the combination with means to force a: iiow of air in intermittent streams of, a resonance chamber having a sounding orifice, and a tubular nozzle outside of said chamber pointing at said sounding orifice and having a terminal dischargel vent spaced therefrom for projecting jets of air against said orifice toward the interior of said chamber, said nozzle containing an elongated passageway connected to receive and lead said streams of air to said vent progressively decreasing in passage area toward said vent whereby said streams of air are accelerated within said nozzle and said jets of air are projected with minimized iiare thereby to strike with augmented force concentrated in the immediate vicinity of said sounding orifice, together with a hollow structure forming a jet chamber arranged to house the said nozzle vent and elongated in the close neighborhood of said vent in the direction in which said jets of air are projected by said nozzle, said chamber opening freely to ambient air at a (point remote from said vent.

5. In apparatus adapted to be incorporated within a toy locomotive for producing fricative noises simulating steam puffing sounds, the combination with means to force a fiow of air in intermittent streams of, a resonance chamber having a sounding orifice, and a tubular nozzle outside of said chamber pointing at said sounding orifice and having a terminal discharge vent spaced therefrom for projecting jets of air against said orifice toward the interior of said chamber, said nozzle containing an elongated passageway connected to'receve and lead said streams of air to said vent progressively decreasing in passage area toward said vent whereby said streams of air are accelerated within said nozzle and said jets of air are projected with minimized flare thereby to strike with augmented force concentrated in the immediate vicinity of said sounding orifice, together with a hollow structure forming a jet chamber arranged to house the said nozzle vent, said chamber being f elongated and reduced in girth in a portion relatively closely surrounding the said jets of air and opening freely to ambient air at a point relatively remote from said-portion of reduced girth.

6. In apparatus adapted to be incorporated i within a toy locomotive for producing fricative noises simulating steam puiiing sounds, the combination with means to force a flow of air in intermittent streams of, a resonance chamber having a sounding orifice, and a tubular nozzle outside of said chamber lpointing at said sounding orifice and having a terminal discharge vent spaced therefrom for projecting jets of air against said orifice toward the interior of said chamber, said nozzle containing an elongated passageway connected to receive and lead said streams of air to said vent progressively decreasing in passage area toward said vent whereby said streams of air are accelerated within said nozzle and said jets of air are projected with minimized flare thereby to strike with augmented force concentrated in the immediate vicinity of said sounding orifice, together with a hollow structure of plain elbow shape having only two branches, one of Said branches forming a jet chamber arranged-'to house the said nozzle vent, and another 'of said branchesbeing disposed at an angle to and joined to the first said branch and opening freely to ambient air. y

'7. In apparatus adapted to beincorporated within a toy locomotive for (producing fricative noises simulating steam pufng sounds, the combination with means to force a flow of air in intermittent streams of, a resonance chamber i having a sounding orifice, and a tubular nozzle outside of said chamber pointing at said sounding orifice and having a terminal discharge vent spaced therefrom for :projecting jets of air against said orifice toward the interior of said chamber, said nozzle containing an elongated passageway connected to receive and lead said streams of air to said vent progressively decreasing in passage area toward said vent whereby said streams of air are accelerated Within said nozzle and said jets of air are projected with minimized flare thereby to strike with augmented force concentrated in the immediate vicinity of said sounding orifice, together with a hollow structure forming a jet chamber arranged to house the saidnozzle vent and joined in fluid tight relation to said resonance chamber.

8. In apparatus adapted to be incorporated within a toy locomotive for producing fricative noises simulating steam puffing sounds, the combination with means to force a flow of air in intermittent streams of, a resonance chamber having a sounding orifice, and a tubular nozzle outside of said chamber pointing at said sounding orifice and having a terminal discharge vent spaced therefrom for projecting jets of air against said orifice toward the interior of said chamber, said nozzle containing an elongated passageway connected to receive and lead said streams of air to said vent progressively decreasing in -passage areav toward said vent whereby said streams of air are accelerated within said nozzle and said jets of air are projected with minimized iiare thereby to strike with augmented force concentrated in the immediate vicinity of said sounding orifice, `together with a hollow structure forming a jet chamber arranged to house the said nozzle vent and reduced in girth in a portion relatively closely surrounding the said jets of air projected from said nozzle, said structure being joined in fiuid tight relation to the said resonance chamber in the formers said portion of reduced girth.

9. In apparatus adapted to be incorporated within a toy locomotive for producing fricative noises simulating steam puffing sounds, the combination with means to force a flow of intermittent streams of air of, an elongated structure having a first tubular portion forming a jet chamber and having a communicating tubular portion open to ambient air, a plug lling and projecting from one end of said jet chamber containing a sounding orifice, a hollow closure cover for said orice having a tubular end joining the outwardly projecting end of said plug in air-tight relation thereto in a manner to form a resonance chamber, a tubular nozzle in said jet chamber pointing at said sounding orifice and having a terminal discharge vent spaced therefrom for projecting jets of air against said orifice toward the interior of said resonance chamber, said nozzle containing an elongated passageway connected to receive and lead said streams of air to said vent and progressively decreasing in passage area toward said vent,

whereby said streams of air are accelerated 7 within said nozzleland said jets of air are Vprojected with minimized are thereby to strike against said plug with augmented force concentrated in the immediate vicinity of said sounding orifice. y

JOHN DASENBROCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

Number Number 8 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date f Schofield Jan. 15, 1889 Ferguson July 18, 1911 Petrie Feb. 25, 1930 Garratt May 1-6, 1939 Bastiansen May 4, 1943 Smith Feb. 15, 1949 FOREGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Sept. 13, 1923 Great Britain May 17, 1938 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,525,288 October 10, 1950 JOHN DASENBROCK It is hereby oertied that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 4, line 28, for the Word interior read exterior;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofee.

Signed and sealed this 26th day of December, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents. 

